Go on the hunt and discover more about our very own Mid-city kitty as you track down saber-toothed cats around the museum and La Brea Tar Pits.
Picture yourself prowling La Brea Tar Pits and show us your best saber-toothed cat pose. Take pictures throughout your scavenger hunt and share them on social with #SabertoothedSummer.
Saber-toothed cats were the first fossils discovered at La Brea Tar Pits and are some of the most common fossils found in the asphalt. 7-inch canines tend to stand out! These killer kitties prowled Los Angeles until the end of the last Ice Age, and–don’t be alarmed–there are a couple of big ones right near the entrance!
Stone Cold Cats
Look out! Saber-toothed cats were ambush predators, and it looks like there’s a few more stone Smilodon we might’ve missed. Can you find them?
Scientists think that saber-toothed cats fed on mammoths and mastadons! Find out how we know at the next stop.
Hey, Grrl. I can see your bones.
Now that we know how paleontologists figured out how saber-toothed cats hunted and some of what they ate, look for another skeletal Smilodon on display.
Try to remain calm as you snag a selfie with this fossil feline. Take a close look at its vertebrae, the bones that make its spine. What do you think broken and healed bones tell us about how they hunted?
Think Outside the Litterbox
Fossil poop is literally too old to stink… well, Tar Pits fossil poop, called coprolites, smell a lot like tar. Can you find some saber-toothed scat? Don’t worry, you won’t step in it.
Fossil Lab
Scientists are working on fossils recently dug up right here from the Tar Pits!
Slow Food
Cool off in the Ice Age and explore the world of saber-toothed cats in our 3D film Titans of the Ice Age playing daily in the 3D Theater. You’ll get to see saber-toothed cats in action!
After you see the film, try to answer the question: why do you think so many predators got trapped in the Tar Pits?
Even more rawr!
Now that you’re a real saber-toothed cat person, why not come face-to-face with a life-size saber-toothed cat puppet in Ice Age Encounters. Travel back in time to Ice Age Los Angeles in this exciting live show. Our star Cali has a killer purr-sonality. She may look fierce, but you’ve nothing to worry about (unless you’re a giant sloth, a mammoth, a mastodon, a bison, or a camel…)
Last stop: step outside for the last selfie stop at an active dig site!
Ice Age Science Is the Pits
See where all the saber-toothed science gets started at Pit 91
Turn that frown into a smilodon because Saber-toothed Summer is happening all season long!
Follow @thelabreatarpits on Instagram and @tarpits on Facebook for more fun saber-toothed cat facts and activities and share your pictures with #SabertoothedSummer
5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
FREE Daily 3-5pm- in the Wilshire District
Welcome to the world famous La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. We want to help you make the most out of your visit and discover all that we have to offer. Let’s start planning your tar pits experience:
We offer a variety of ways to see our general admission areas of the museum for free throughout the year. Additional tickets can still be purchased to see Titans of the Ice Age 3D and Ice Age Encounters.
Receive free museum admission on the first Tuesday of every month (except July and August) as well as every Tuesday in September. We recommend reserving tickets in advance to guarantee museum entry and to skip the line, as we experience high attendance on these days.
Free Museum Admission Daily For
- CA EBT cardholders with ID
- CA teachers with ID
- Active or retired military with ID
- Children 2 and under
Tickets available at the museum with valid ID.
La Brea Tar Pits is Free for L.A. County Residents
L.A. County residents receive free museum admission Monday – Friday from 3 – 5 pm. Free hour tickets available at the museum. Bring a valid ID or utility bill the day of your visit.
Excavator Tour: Get the inside story of the Fossil Lab, Lake Pit, Observation Pit, and Project 23. Free with Museum admission. Learn More
Explore the La Brea Tar Pits: You can see scientists at work, uncovering new Ice Age fossils in the tar pits – new discoveries made right before your eyes. Learn More
Titans of the Ice Age: An all new, unforgettable 3D journey back in time that you won’t want to miss. Learn More
La Brea Tar Pits Museum and Fossil Lab: See our scientists putting the past back together. Watch science in action in the Fossil Lab as Museum scientists are studying what these fossils are telling us about Ice Age L.A. and the environmental changes that are still having an impact on us today. On display are mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, giant sloths, and more, found right here at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Ice Age Encounters: This dynamic, live, 15-minute multi-media performance brings the distant past to life and uncovers the mysteries of the extinct creatures who roamed
Los Angeles over 10,000 years ago. Available Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Learn More
For additional information, visit the website @
https://tarpits.org
Find more
